Defoe has to show Redknapp he can control his temper after being sent off against Portsmouth for a needless stamp.

Bent will be determined to make his former boss feel he was wrong to sell him to Sunderland in August.

In January, Bent was in the firing line when Redknapp memorably said “even my missus could have scored that one” when the striker missed an easy chance against Portsmouth.

Redknapp has no regrets, saying: “It’s not something to worry about.

“When I said it, and it showed me on TV, I said, ‘bloody hell, a woman could have scored that’. It wasn’t just because it was Darren Bent. It could have been anyone.

“There were probably four million blokes sitting watching TV that night and when they saw that thought, ‘cor blimey, a woman would have scored that’.

“That was all I said. After that, he played the League Cup final. I started him up front and I played him. I have no problem with Darren Bent.

“I didn’t mean anything. Genuinely, he is a smashing lad and a good player. But £16 million was good money for him.

“I liked him as a player, but I just felt that I had four strikers. I think he has a chance with England for the World Cup.”

Then changing the subject to Defoe, Redknapp said: “It’s nice to have Jermain back and he’s got to make it up to us now for being sent off and costing us vital points.

“That’s the first time he has been sent off playing for me. He was silly, and shouldn’t have reacted the way he did.

“He won’t do that again, I’m sure. It’s cost him and cost us. We need him out there playing. People are going to kick him because he’s a terrific player. He has to accept that.”

Redknapp also has an eye on his defence and is considering a £10m bid to capture England centre-back Matthew Upson from West Ham in January.

Spurs have thrown down the gauntlet to Chelsea in the battle for lucrative naming rights when their new stadium is finished.

Chelsea announced on Thursday they’re looking for a new name for Stamford Bridge. Tottenham executive director Paul Barber said: “The key thing is that word ‘new’. It is a new stadium as opposed to White Hart Lane and that’s the fundamental difference to what Newcastle have done and what Chelsea are planning. It’s a balancing act.

“They’ve got an old, established stadium in Stamford Bridge, a fantastic stadium.

“We’ve got a new state-of- the-art, technologically advanced, environmentally friendly stadium planned, which will have no name attached to it and no history or heritage attached to that stadium.

“We think the uniqueness of our stadium, with the fans’ home end terrace, will make it more iconic than Arsenal’s.